1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pickup apparatus for optically writing or reading information in or out of a disk type recording medium, such as a compact disk and an optical disk, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A pickup apparatus for reproducing the information recorded in an optical disk, such as a CD and a DVD has heretofore been known. A pickup apparatus is formed so as to carry out for the purpose of accurately reading the information recorded on an optical disk a focus control operation for controlling a distance between an information recording surface of the optical disk and an objective lens with respect to the flexure and deflection of the optical disk, and a tracking control operation for the follow-up controlling of the objective lens with respect to the eccentricity of an information track of the optical disk.
Conventional pickup apparatuses are constructed so that a range of a movement of a movable unit including an objective lens is restricted by using an actuator cover. Therefore, the size in the direction of the height of the pickup apparatus becomes large. This prevents the reduction of the dimensions and weight of the pickup apparatus, and causes the cost of manufacturing the apparatus to increase due to an increase in the number of parts thereof.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a pickup apparatus capable of rendering an actuator cover unnecessary and reducing the dimensions and weight thereof; and a method of manufacturing the same.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the pickup apparatus has a lens holder and an actuator base which are connected together via plurality of elastic members to thereby support the lens holder movably, the lens holder having on both sides thereof a pair of elastic member-fixing parts which project from such portions thereof that are spaced from each other in a focusing direction, and which have a pair of elastic members fixed thereto respectively, and a stopper member positioned between the two elastic member-fixing parts and restricting a range of a movement of the lens holder in the focusing direction thereof.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the pickup apparatus has a lens holder and an actuator base which are connected together via plurality of wire-form elastic members to thereby support the lens holder movably in a focusing direction and tracking direction, the lens holder having a pair of elastic member-fixing parts which project from such portions thereof which are spaced from each other in the focusing direction, and which have a pair of wire-form elastic members fixed thereto respectively, the actuator base having a pair of standing members which are provided in positions spaced from each other in the tracking direction with the lens holder held therebetween, and which are adapted to restrict a range of a movement of the lens holder in the tracking direction, and stopper members which project from the standing members so as to be positioned between the two elastic member-fixing parts, and which are adapted to restrict a range of a movement of the lens holder in the focusing direction.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the pickup apparatus has a lens holder and a suspension base which are molded in an integral state between both ends of plurality of wire-form elastic members, the suspension base being fixed to an actuator base, whereby the lens holder is supported so as to be movable in the focusing direction and tracking direction, the lens holder having on both sides thereof a pair of elastic member-fixing parts which project from such portions thereof that are spaced from each other in a focusing direction, and which have a pair of elastic members fixed thereto respectively, the actuator base having a pair of standing members which are provided in positions spaced from each other in the tracking direction with the lens holder held therebetween, and which are adapted to restrict a range of movement of the lens holder in the tracking direction, and stopper members which project from the standing members so as to be positioned between the two elastic member-fixing parts, and which are adapted to restrict a range of a movement of the lens holder in the focusing direction.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the method of manufacturing the above-described pickup apparatus, in which a lens holder and a suspension base are connected together via plurality of wire-form elastic members, the suspension base being fixed to an actuator base, the lens holder including on both sides thereof a pair of (elastic member-) fixing parts which project from such portions thereof that are spaced from each other in a focusing direction, and which have the wire-form elastic members fixed thereto respectively, has the steps of molding the lens holder and suspension member in an integral state out of a resin on the both ends of the wire-form elastic member so as to fix the suspension base to the actuator base and set the lens holder in a predetermined position, and thereafter positioning stopper members, which are used for restricting a range of a movement of the lens holder in the focusing direction, between the two elastic member-fixing parts of the lens holder set in a predetermined position.